FERRUM, Va. — Averett University baseball left no doubt in Tuesday's victory over Ferrum College.
Averett (18-13, 10-10 ODAC) returned to the win column in emphatic fashion with a dominant win over Ferrum (18-20, 7-13 ODAC) in which the Cougars took home an 11-1 mercy rule victory.
Senior
Nathan Comer got the game underway for Averett, tossing just over an inning of scoreless ball before giving way to freshman
Maddox Warren. Warren delivered a gem for the Cougars in his longest appearance of the season, finishing the game out with 5.2 innings of one run baseball. Warren kept the Panthers offense stifled while the Cougars mounted a stellar outing at the plate.
Averett's scoring started early and continued often. In the top of the second the Cougars scored their first bunch of runs. Redshirt sophomore
Trevor Testerman led the way with a leadoff double, and senior backstop
Preston Robbins blazed down the first base line to leg out a bunt single to put two Cougars on board. Junior
J.C. Barry, who has proven time and time again his value as a transfer pickup, singled to right to score the game's first tally. Senior
Nick Romano followed suit, with a single into right that scored Averett's second run, and advanced Barry to third where he would eventually dash home to score on a wild pitch. Averett's three-run inning was all the insurance the team would need, but that did not stop the Cougars' offensive barrage.
Averett tacked on three more runs in the top of the third. Graduate student
Nolan Maccabe, among the Old Dominion Athletic Conference's leaders in batting, stroked a double to right field to get the ball rolling in the inning. Robbins walked, and once again Barry came to the plate with an opportunity to deliver for the Cougars. The sweet-swinging lefty swatted a ball over the right field wall for a three-run four-bagger. Already up 6-0, the Cougars refused to let off the gas pedal. Averett's senior-laden outfield combined to score in the fourth inning. Senior
Kevin Zischke led off with a walk, senior
Mason Williams singled, and Maccabe drove home the first run of the inning before Testerman played cleanup duty to stretch the lead out to 8-0 in favor of the away team. The Cougars played a bit of small ball in the top of the sixth to push across three more runs and move the game into mercy rule territory. Singles from Maccabe and Barry, and sacrifice flies from Robbins and senior
Caden Grider led Averett en route to the team's third three-run inning of the game.
Ferrum finally cracked into the run column in the bottom of the seventh, but did not do enough to stave off the early defeat as the game met its early conclusion after seven innings.
It's a taste of sweet revenge for the Cougars after the early season matchup with Ferrum ended in the Panthers' favor. Averett walks away with the last laugh against its bitter rival, however, as Tuesday's win locks Averett into a spot in the top eight in the ODAC. The win secures the Cougars' first ever berth into the ODAC Baseball Tournament in the programs third season of contention.
Maccabe and Barry led Averett in the hit column amassing three hits each. Barry was a one-man RBI machine, putting five runs on the board thanks in large part to his fourth inning big fly. The Cougars also swiped four bags in the game, two of which coming from Maccabe as he continues to fight for the base stealing crown in the ODAC
One more weekend series awaits Averett, as the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University make the trip south to take on the Cougars. It will be a senior day celebration for Averett, with Game 1 of the doubleheader set for noon on Saturday, April 26, with senior day festivities preceding first pitch.
